She's right, of course. My mother has been running a successful business in this town for twenty years, she understands how community dynamics work, how quickly confidence can erode when doubt starts spreading.
But she doesn't understand what I'm capable of when someone threatens what I care about.
My phone rings, most likely Savvy, checking in with an update from her end of the planning. I answer on speaker.
"Please tell me you have good news," I say without preamble.
"Define good news," she replies, her voice tight with frustration. "Because I spent an hour on the phone with our catering coordinator, who suddenly has concerns about our liability insurance and wants to review all our safety protocols before confirming the final headcount."
"Let me guess, someone pointed out potential issues to him?"
"A concerned citizen who stopped by his restaurant this morning. Polished. Polite. Wanted to make sure everyoneinvolved understood the full scope of responsibility for a public event." Savvy's tone could cut glass. "Maddy, this is textbook intimidation. He's making people afraid of being associated with us."
I close my eyes, feeling the pressure build. This is how Richard works, not with direct hits, but by shaking the ground under you until everything falls apart.
But he's wrong about this. He thinks it's about money and power. He doesn't see that he's pushing against a town that protects its own. And Mason? He's part of us now.
"Savvy," I say, meeting my mom's eyes, "how many vendors have pulled out?"
"None yet. But I can hear it in their voices. They're nervous. And nervous people back away."
"Then we give them a reason to be excited instead of scared." I start pacing again, my mind spinning through possibilities. "Richard wants to make this about liability and paperwork and bureaucratic complications. We make it about community and hope and everything this festival represents."
"How do we do that?"
"We double down on what we're already doing," I say. "We turn this into the story of a small town fighting back against corporate intimidation. We make Richard Kingston the villain and ourselves the heroes, and we make it so public that backing out becomes harder than staying in."
Mom raises an eyebrow. "That's either brilliant or insane."
"Why not both?" I grin at her, feeling the familiar surge of energy that comes when I stop trying to make the impossible work and start making it inevitable. "Mom, I need you to help me call every business owner Richard contacted today. Tell them we're having an emergency community meeting tonight at seven, about protecting River Bend from outside interference."
"And then what?"
"Then we show them what we're fighting for." I pull out my phone and start typing a text to Mason. "And we make Richard Kingston realize he picked the wrong fight, with the wrong people, at the wrong time."
The next two hours pass in a blur of focused coordination. I pull up my vendor contact list and start making calls, not panicked damage control, but calm, clear-headed outreach. Each conversation follows the same pattern: acknowledge their concerns, validate their fears, then reframe the entire situation.
"Mrs. Finch, I understand your worry about the liability issues," I say into my phone while simultaneously typing notes on my laptop. "That's why we need to meet tonight. Because this isn't about insurance requirements, it's about whether we let outside pressure dictate what happens in our community."
I hear her swing from defensive to curious as I explain Richard's broader strategy. By the time I hang up, she's not backing out, she's bringing her entire family to the meeting.
One by one, I work through the list. The pattern holds, initial fear transforms into anger once people understand they're being manipulated. By the time I finish, I have commitments from every vendor Richard contacted, plus several he missed.
My phone buzzes with updates from Mason throughout the afternoon.
Mason
Mrs. Patterson wants to interview me about "outside corporate influence on local affairs." I think she smells a story.
Me
Perfect. Give her everything. Make her your ally, not your adversary.
Mason
Mrs. Russell offered to "have words" with Richard if he bothers me again. I may have accidentally acquired a bodyguard.
Me
